Remember the Cortez Family from Spy Kids? Here’s what they’re all up to now

Juni is married to Meghan Trainor?!


Amongst the greatest injustices in film history sits a particular disservice so foul that it still proves contentious in the realm of academic filmic discourse to this very day. It’s not Citizen Kane losing out at the 1941 Academy Awards, just as it certainly wasn’t DiCaprio waiting patiently for his time to come. No, that’s because these pale in comparison to the 28th Saturn Awards where, unequivocally, the greatest scandal was carried out – Spy Kids lost to The Lord of the Rings for Best Fantasy Film.

Swiftly moving on (before I smash my laptop), an impressive script supported an impressive cast, so it’s pretty hard not to get emotional watching the Cortez kids endeavour to rescue their fit celebrity parents. But what happened to the cast of Spy Kids? Have we seen the cast of Spy Kids on our screens since? As it turns out, yes, you may have done if you looked hard enough:

Alexa Vega as Carmen Cortez

Alexa played Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids, fighting alongside her brother for the liberation of her parents. Her Wikipedia page says she did most of her own stunts in all three of the Spy Kids films, so it’s fair to say that her performance was worthy of some credit (fuck you, 28th Saturn Awards).

She got married in 2010 to Sean Covel, a producer on Napoleon Dynamite, but that lasted less than two years.

She remarried in 2014 to actor and singer Carlos Pena Jr, and they have two children. They also share a YouTube channel called LexLovesLos, where they vlog about their lives. They have over 130 million channel views, so they’re definitely considered genuine YouTubers and not just actors who do it on the side (although half of those are from a video with Justin Bieber).

Vega has consistently appeared in film and television since Spy Kids, including the award-winning Nashville. So yeah, she’s done a substantial amount since.

Daryl Sabara as Juni Cortez

Up next is younger brother Juni Cortez, played by Daryl Sabara. He’s been keeping himself busy also, appearing in Wizards of Waverly Place and even finding Nemo, where he contributed his voice to multiple smaller parts. He has also appeared alongside Chloe Grace Moretz and Robin Williams in starring roles.

He voiced the lead boy in The Polar Express, despite the fact that the Wikipedia page itself suggests that the role was played by both Tom Hanks and Josh Hutcherson (of Hunger Games fame) too.

This is either going to be a huge shock or a “duh” moment for you after reading the line at the top of this article, but I advise you to sit down either way as a precaution. In 2018, after over two years of dating, Sabara married Meghan Trainor. THAT Meghan Trainor. Didn’t have a clue.

Carla Gugino as Ingrid Cortez

Carla Gugino played the mother of the team, becoming encaptured by Alan Cumming OBE™ before being freed by her little kiddos. You’ve seen Carla since, surely? In fact, the casting people were simply flexing on us with the Cortez parents.

Whether it’s Night at the Museum, American Gangster or The Haunting of Hill House, she’s had an absolutely insane career (and most of it has been since Spy Kids, just saying).

She doesn’t have a personal life section on Wikipedia which is enough to make anyone ANGERY, but she seems happily married to her director/screenwriter husband Sebastián Gutiérrez, who actually wrote the screenplay for Snakes on a Plane – mad how all of these celeb couples interlink.

Antonio Banderas as Gregorio Cortez

Papa Cortez, aka Puss in Boots from Shrek, has obviously been up to a lot since, because he’s a big actor – how big? Well, he has a Cannes Best Actor Award, and various nominations including a Tony Award, an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globes.

So, the better question ought to be what hasn’t he been up to? You know him from the biguns like Zorro, but there’s simply so many interesting and peculiar facts about him:

  • He owns 50 per cent of a winery in Spain that produces Red and Rosé
  • He is a professional in the perfume industry, having worked with companies for over 10 years
  • He was in the 2007 M&S Christmas advert
  • He lives in Cobham, in Surrey. Yup.
  • In 2015, he studied Fashion Design at Central St Martins

Danny Trejo as Isador Cortez

Danny Trejo plays Uncle Isador, the grumpy bloke who doesn’t want to help his niece and nephew out, even though they stress that his brother is in big danger… okay!

Trejo is known for commonly playing a tough gangster type, as is evident from his roles in Breaking Bad, Brooklyn 99 and Sons of Anarchy. Before appearing in any films, he was in and out of prison and became addicted to drugs, but he seems to be on the straight and narrow as he announced in 2012 that he was 42 years sober!

His current ventures include food and drink – he owns a taco restaurant as well as a doughnut shop in Los Angeles, and he also has his own brands of beer and coffee.

Alan Cumming OBE as Fegan Floop

Okay, either this film gave people a humongous reputation in the film industry, or all of these people were already massive stars, and I’m pretty convinced it’s the former. Alan Cumming OBE was not a member of the family, but he might as well be – how could we not include him in this list?!

Doctor Who, Frasier and The Good Wife are all incredibly successful programs that he’s been part of, so it’s no surprise that he was awarded an OBE in 2009 for his work as an actor as well as his activism on LGBTQ rights.

He is currently in a civil partnership with illustrator Grant Shaffer, after previously being married to actress Hilary Lyon.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Remember Cheaper by the Dozen? Here’s what the 12 Baker kids are up to now

• This is what your favourite Nickelodeon childhood stars are up to now

• This is what the original Gogglebox cast members are up to now